Posted on: Saturday, December 27, 2003
SATURDAY SCOOPS
I will...
Advertiser Staff and News Services
As 2003 winds down and 2004 rushes up to greet us, what better time to reflect on common-sense goals that will enrich our lives? Yes, folks, it's time to make those new-year resolutions, and you can start acting on them today:
• Appreciate those around you. Don't be afraid to say "I love you" to the people you love. Hug your dog, pet your cat. Don't have a pet? Visit the Hawaiian Humane Society at 2700 Wai'alae Ave., where so many wonderful animals need loving homes. • Read. Don't let your mind deteriorate. Read the newspaper, a magazine, a book — learn about your world or explore worlds of fiction.
• Write it down. Keep a journal of your resolutions and make weekly entries about your progress. What works? What doesn't? • Watch less TV. We know, we know: Some television programs are irresistible — "The Simpsons," "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," "24," "American Idol" ... but we digress! Watching TV is passive activity (unless you count changing channels during the commercials). Get active and start a conversation with your family instead. • Support the arts in the community. There is no substitute for live theater.
Still playing:
Coming up: Visit the museums, too. There's free admission to the Honolulu Academy of Arts every first Wednesday of the month; and both it and the Bishop Museum have occasional Sunday festivals that are free or inexpensive to attend.
• Communicate. Write e-mail, write a real letter with pen and paper to that pal from long ago. Patch up old differences and begin anew. — By Debra Yuen, Scoops Editor
Head downtown tonight for 'Iolani Palace, which hosts a celebration of the birthday (Dec. 31) of Queen Kapi'olani. The public is invited to first-floor tours and self-guided tours of the galleries of the palace during this holiday tradition, which includes musicians on the front steps to greet guests, and decorations of heirloom roses arranged and donated by the Honolulu Rose Society. The palace will be lighted as it was during the monarchy period.
The palace doors open at 6 p.m.; the event ends at 8:30 p.m. Admission — $5 general, $2 for ages 13-18, free for kids 12 and younger — is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Celebrate new year in an Asian way
Celebrate the new year with Temari — Center for Asian & Pacific Arts, which is presenting a festival from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today at the Ward Warehouse. Among the attractions: mochi-pounding, taiko, folk dances, craft demonstrations and other new year's rituals.
Also, Temari craftsmen will create kadomatsu arrangements, the traditional symbol of longevity and prosperity. This year's version includes a mini monkey, signifying the Year of the Monkey in the Asian calendar.
Admission is free.
Winter break needn't be a boring time
It's winter break and the kids are bored already? Say it isn't so! If it is so, here are a few ideas to keep the youngsters occupied:
• Investigate whether you have a right-pawed or left-pawed pet.
Dogs and cats can show a tendency toward one or the other, so try these three tests. Take your pet's favorite treat and hide it under a dish. Record which paw he or she favors in trying to nab the treat. Next, dangle your pet's favorite toy and observe which paw it uses to bat at it. Write down the findings. Then dab some peanut butter on your dog's or cat's nose and see which paw is favored in trying to clean it off. Look over the findings. Can you tell if your pet is right-pawed, left-pawed or ambidextrous? Maybe more tests are needed.
For more experiments, visit www.dragonflytv.org. If you've depleted your own coloring-book supply, no need to run to the store. The Internet offers online coloring, or you can print out pages and color them the old-fashioned way. Try Jan Brett's Coloring Pages at www.janbrett.com and Mary Engelbreit's Coloring Pages at www.maryengelbreit.com.
• Your Internet connection is a source for entertaining family games.
Visit www.familyeducation.com and choose from a variety of activities, including a baby-animal quiz, a project to build your own Mars colony and a lot more.
Be entertained, get breathing tips
There's entertainment, too, by Jordan Segundo, Tani Lynn and Omni.
It's the end of the run for Club 1, the Saturday-night fixture at downtown's multimedia space Studio 1 since July. The final party starts at 9 tonight and ends at 2 a.m. It's for those 21 and older.
A spanking clean home is a great way to start a new year
• Dishwashing:
Do:
Don't:
Do:
Don't:
• Get healthy. Eat more fruits and veggies, lose those extra pounds. Don't supersize! Stop smoking — if not for yourself, then for those around you. Check out www.healthyhawaii.com for tips.
• Do something a little different and get out of that rut. Take a ceramics class, volunteer at the Institute for Human Services, learn another language, try a new recipe, eat at that restaurant you always wondered about. Try a blueberry-and-cream-cheese scone at Diamond Head Market (3575 Campbell Ave.) for a mild indulgence.
• Bring beauty into your home: a new orchid, or anthuriums in a vase. Get those pictures on the walls (it doesn't have to be expensive, either; try lining up a row of black-framed color photos, or red-framed black-and-white photos). Better yet, paint that wall. Give your home a boost of color, and boost your spirits as well.
Palace celebrates Queen Kapi'olani
• Break out the coloring books, crayons and markers.
Will it be another smoky New Year's Eve? You'd better believe it! But if you have pulmonary conditions, there is help: "Breathe with Ease into the New Year," a free presentation, takes place 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today 
at Ala Moana's Centerstage. Get your breathing questions answered by a team of health pros; you can even get a respirator mask while supplies last.
Club 1's last party happens tonight
A clean home is a happy home, and in Hawai'i, with its Asian influences, a sparking house on New Year's Day is a must (there's the feeling that if your home is dirty on New Year's, it'll be dirty all year long). But be safe, too, while you're cleaning:
